Women's Top 25: Schedule doesn't phase Huskies

Nov. 25, 2013

Written by

Doug Feinberg

AP Basketball Writer

UConn is No. 1 again in The Associated Press’ women’s basketball poll. The Huskies (8-0) received all 36 first-place votes from the national media panel Monday. They breezed through a busy week, winning four games in five days.

Here are five things to know about this week’s Top 25:

CRUISE CONTROL: Playing an NBA-type schedule didn’t bother UConn. The short-handed Huskies won all four games by an average of 52 points. The week before, they played ranked teams Stanford, Maryland and Penn State.

“You always get something out of every game you play. It is rare that you would walk away from something and say there was no point to it,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “But it does make things difficult on the coaches, the players … everyone involved. You agree that it would be great to play in the Hall of Fame Classic and that it would be great to play three home games in the process, especially after the stretch of games we just had (against ranked teams).”

Auriemma’s team doesn’t play again until Sunday when the Huskies face Ohio State.

FREE FALLING: No. 18 Oklahoma (4-2) was the only Top 25 team to lose this week, falling 82-76 to UCLA (2-2) on Sunday. The Bruins beat a ranked opponent for the first time this season after losses to Nebraska and North Carolina.

The Sooners dropped eight spots in the poll. The rest of the Top 25 went 43-0, winning by an average of 31 points. Fourth-ranked Louisville needed overtime before putting away Florida State.

FUN IN THE SUN: With the holiday week coming up, many teams are flying to tournaments in warmer climates. Second-ranked Duke heads to the Virgin Islands, third-ranked Tennessee plays in the Bahamas and sixth-ranked Stanford travels to Mexico. Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer is two victories from becoming the fifth coach to reach 900. She’ll join the heady company of Pat Summitt, Sylvia Hatchell, C. Vivian Stringer and Jody Conradt.

Stanford will face a ranked opponent, with the Cardinal playing No. 16 Purdue on Tuesday.

RIVALRY RENEWED: With the split of the Big East this summer and Texas A&M leaving for the SEC a few years ago, past series matchups weren’t guaranteed. DePaul and Notre Dame will continue theirs this week when the 25th-ranked Blue Demons visit the No. 5 Irish on Tuesday. It should be a high-scoring contest, with DePaul coming into the game averaging 89 points and Notre Dame posting 88.

Texas will face Texas A&M in the Virgin Islands, renewing their series on a neutral court. The Longhorns had an impressive showing against Stanford on Saturday before falling 63-54. The Aggies had last week off.

STAYING PUT: The top nine teams in the poll remained the same and no new team entered the rankings for the second time in three weeks, mostly because no Top 25 teams faced each other last week.